Misbah's gallant century fails to save Sargodha

Karachi Whites chalked up their sixth victory in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I Cricket Championship Thursday despite a gallant century by Sargodha skipper Misbah-ul-Haq at KCCA Stadium here.

Misbah, who made a solitary Test appearance at Auckland on the tour of New Zealand last year, played a flawless knock of 108 on the final day of the four-day tie.

The 27-year-old right-hander, this season's leading batsman with a tally of 1386 runs, looked a class apart on a wearing track and completely neutralised Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria's attempt to dominate him.

Misbah, about whom Geoff Boycott had made some unsavoury comments during a coaching assignment at Lahore last year, played such an innings of which the former England opener would have been proud of. In fact, such was the quality of Misbah's masterful display Thursday even Boycott would have struggled on this pitch to bat on for one minute short of five hours.

Misbah was eighth out at the score of 311 after completing his third century in the current championship and the fourth of the season, when he was bowled by paceman Tanvir Ahmed.

In all, Misbah faced 249 deliveries and struck 13 exquisitely-timed boundaries during the course of his first-class career's eighth century despite the fact that the KCCA outfield, as usual, was horribly sluggish and uneven.

Play was held up twice by light showers in the first session. The second stoppage forced the umpires to call for early lunch 10 minutes before schedule.

Sargodha were eventually all out 20 minutes before the tea break for 334 in their second innings, leaving the Whites just 53 for victory.

Kaneria claimed the first six wickets, including four Wednesday, to end up with six for 117 in 47 overs and a match haul of nine for 173.

Mohammad Masroor again found batting difficult in the role of a makeshift opener and perished for a first-ball duck. But Hasan Raza and Saeed bin Nasir made light work of the target with the latter striking the winning boundary.